Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Adham Baba handing over a "release certificate" to Ban Wai Kong who had been quarantined at Akept in Nilai for 14 days upon returning from Wuhan.

NILAI: All Iranian, Italian and South Korean nationals will be barred from entering Malaysia following the Covid-19 outbreak in those respective countries, says Datuk Seri Dr Adham Baba.

The Health Minister said the Cabinet issued the directive, effective on Friday (March 13), at its weekly meeting on Wednesday.

Malaysians returning from these countries after the said date would also be quarantined for 14 days.

He also said Malaysians are also not encouraged to visit these countries unless there was a pressing need.

"Other foreigners who had also visited these three countries would also be prohibited from coming in," he told reporters after visiting the Higher Education Leadership Academy (Akept) here, which had been temporarily converted into a quarantine centre for those brought back from Wuhan, China following the outbreak there.

Dr Adham said the ban on those coming from Hubei, Zhejiang and Jiangsu in China and Hokkaido in Japan was still in force.

On a separate matter, Dr Adham said a fund would also be set up to assist unemployed individuals who tested positive for the virus or are forced to undergo home surveillance.

Each individual would be paid RM100 a day for the 14-day period.

"The public is encouraged to contribute to the fund which would be managed by the National Disaster Management Agency," he added.